A Night Between
by EshtarWind
Summary: A simple talk in the night... and acceptance that vanished her guilt. Miakis and Lyon Suikoden V friendship. Beware of spoiler... BEWARE.


**Author's Note: So… I had been playing Suikoden V for a little too long now (63 hours, yeah) that I think… I need to make something. :)) Yeah. For those whole love Suikoden… just like me… Ah yeah, there are spoilers of the storyline, quite near the battles near the last battle. Heed it, please… and please don't sue me about it. XDDD GO, GO, MIAKIS!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden V or the translations.**

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**A Suikoden V Fic**

**A Night Between**

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_The trembling bowstring of a drawn bow  
Pounding in the moonlight, your heart  
_  
_**Joe Hisaishi : Mononoke Hime**_

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The gentle sound of the river accompanied her as she moved her legs back and forth by the edge of the tower. It was a quiet night. The only sounds that were accompanying her were the sound of the lake and the soft humming breeze. It somehow… soothed her from the after affect of the battle. It was a hard one today… and she never thought it would be _that_ hard… The fact that she had actually… engaged the Prince into a duel…

"We are glad to have you back."

The soft voice of the Prince's guardian didn't make her turn her head. Seeing there was no reaction whatsoever, Lyon continued gently.

"The Prince said it too, didn't he? If you still with them any longer… the thought of having you as an enemy is something that we all feared. Not only because you're a very strong fighter… but also… because you're our… friend. Best friend."

The last sentence brought something to her, as her lips curved up slowly. Finally she turned and flashed the younger woman her grin.

"That's a nice saying," Miakis said lightly. "You're good with words as usual, Lyon. Just like the Nightingale."

Lyon titled her head at her last sentence, seems like contemplating it a bit. Though unable to find any correlations between a Nightingale and herself, she smiled then took a seat beside the dual daggers bearer.

Miakis raised her eyebrows.

"Shouldn't you be with His Highness?" asked the woman. "It's strange enough to find you here."

"Well… His Highness the Prince wants to be alone," Lyon moved her legs then looked up at the sky. "And he wants to go straight to bed. I presume he is pretty exhausted. No wonder, having you as an opponent. Ne?"

Miakis watched Lyon after a while then smiled. Yes. Being a guardian for Lyon, there were times when the guardian and the royal family separate themselves. But for Miakis…

"It's nice, eh, Lyon… to have someone to protect."

Lyon quickly turned her head. Miakis was staring at the blue lake, still swinging her legs gently—watching as the ripples appeared when the wind blew atop of the water. The younger girl bit her bottom lips.

"Miakis…"

"When Gizel said that… protecting the Princess is not my job anymore… when he said that… protecting her was _his_ job… I was… devastated."

The Queen's Knight covered her face to hold the sob that was breaking through her defenses. Lyon jerked forward in alarm. Miakis never cried before today… She was not akin to cries… she…

"M-Miakis…"

"My father… had always wanted me to serve Falena… to use my power to protect Falena… When Commander Ferid finally let me in to the Queen's Knight… when Craig handed me to the care of the Queen's Knight… I… The first order he gave me was… was to protect… a baby…"

Lyon's dark blue eyes softened at the sound of Miakis's voice.

"A baby that would soon… govern Falena under her wings… The Princess…"

Upon saying her name, the voice dropped into almost a whisper.

"She was so tiny… so beautiful… so sweet that… that you wouldn't have known she would be like _that_ after she grew up, if you know what I mean, Lyon."

Lyon nodded with a smile. She did understand that one. Miakis chuckled a little between her sobs, looking at the hands that were used to comfort that one girl.

"'_Protect her_,' His Majesty said to me. '_There is nothing more that I demand from you, my fellow Queen's Knight_.'"

A smile curved up her lips.

"Because of His Majesty's words… or perhaps… simply because of the girl herself… I… I obliged myself to my duty. I give my power to fulfill the order. I live to serve her, to protect her… and… and there is nothing more that I want from this life… I want to make sure everything is alright; everything is fine around her… My worth as a Queen's Knight… is to protect her… but… But then now…"

She clenched her fists and letting the tears flowed again.

"I can't even… I can't even do anything… I… when Gizel said it… when he took that away from me… I… I feel like… even as a Queen's Knight… I have no meaning anymore. I am… unworthy of being alive in this world. I can't even fulfill what a father had asked me to do!"

"Miakis!"

Lyon flung herself forward and hugged the older woman. Today had been a very hard day for her. Being forced to fight the Prince, in the name of honor of a Queen's Knight, orders of the Commander and the Queen, duty as a knight… they were rubbish… utter rubbish… Lies… and to think that she actually did it under the name of lies…

"And I help Alenia get away! I fought the Prince! I hurt someone I should've protected! I'm such a fool! A fool! I am such… an idiot…"

"No…" Lyon shook her body gently. "You're not! You wouldn't have known what happened next! You wouldn't have known that… that you would face the Prince and…"

"I have thought about that!" she almost shrugged her friends away but the hug that Lyon gave somehow drained all her power away. "I have thought… it was in my head… Everything was in my head but… but I just didn't want to think anymore… I didn't want to guess… I didn't want to contemplate anything! Just… just make everything go away, please… just stop… I wasn't supposed to do that… I wasn't supposed to…

"Then what about it?!"

Lyon's shout made her looked up. The dark blue eyes of the Prince's bodyguard clashed with hers, hard and demanding. She tightened her grip over the Queen's Knight's shoulder then said softly, "Then what about it, Miakis? They are all past, now. They are past! You cannot go back! The only way in this life is forward! Forget what you have done, and think of what you must do! Fight them!"

It was a harsh statement… and Miakis returned her hard gaze with a fragile one.

"I am… unworthy of those chances, Lyon. So… unworthy…"

"But—"

"The Prince must be mad at me, isn't he?" Her eyes turned wounded. "I cannot protect the Princess… and Princess… must've felt disappointed too. I have failed a duty… A noble duty of a knight… I shouldn't get… such privilege to fight back…"

"If that so… the Prince wouldn't take you here, right?" said Lyon softly, smiling warmly at the older woman. "The Prince never feels mad at you… He knows the circumstances and he understands everything. You're not… you're not the evildoer, Miakis. You're a victim… just like His Highness… or the Princess herself. Everything is not your faults… and if none of us think that way so why should you?"

The dark eyes of the dual daggers wielder widened. Traces of tears cushioned her face… but she finally saw the acceptance, dawning over her.

"You're… not? His Highness… never think of me that way?"

"Nor does Her Highness, I suppose," Lyon nodded firmly. She smiled. "All of us… are victims. We understand what happened very well. That is why… That is why we're glad to have you with us. Fight with us, Miakis. If you do not wish to fight… then I suppose the Prince won't force you to. If it feels too hard for you to fight against the Princess, then…"

"Naaah… I'll fight alongside you, of course!" Miakis suddenly grinned at her. "What's the point of being here than to WHACK the heads of those Godwin FOOLs anyway?!"

Lyon raised her eyebrows. That was a very quick recovery.

"Why… Thanks, Miakis!" She smiled widely now. "You'll join our army, then?"

"Well… if… the Prince really doesn't mind having me around here… I definitely will!" Miakis said with a firm voice. A smile found its way back to her self again, brightening her whole feature. "What about it?"

_That vibrant voice…_ Lyon heaved a relieve sigh. Her eyes softened as she looked at the old lovable Miakis, the one who will always be smiling, cheerful, and reliable—the Queen's Knight. The latter brushed away her tears then clenched her fists.

"The Princess… must've wanted this to happen too, now, doesn't she?" she said lightly. "If I join the Prince, if I join you, Lyon, perhaps… I will meet the Princess again!"

"Not perhaps, Miakis," said Lyon firmly. She nodded her head. "We definitely will."

Miakis laughed then nodded her head.

"Yes. We will meet the Princess again and we will CHASE that Godwin away from Sun Palace then END this awful war!"

Lyon smiled at her statement and nodded firmly. That was so Miakis.

"And you know what, Lyon? I'll show ALENIA what it's like to be boss around! And Zahhak too! Hah! He is SUCH a pain in the ass all the time! Then that DAMN Godwin will…"

Somehow… that long lasting story that was coming out of the former Princess's guardian's mouth didn't make Lyon stand up and walk away. It felt so right that way… having the cheerful Miakis instead of the one that was crying just a moment before. This was just like how it supposed to be… and somehow meeting Lucretia tomorrow morning to report the fled of Alenia didn't feel that bad at all.

At least… there was someone that had come back to their side, and that fact was more important than anything else at that moment.

X

A stifled giggle was heard behind the castle wall. Kyle was grinning sheepishly, as a faint blush crept up his face.

"Aaaahh!!! YEAH! Another woman to peek in bath! Miakis at that!! Ah… Isn't the world beautiful??"

Perhaps the only one who would agree with his way of thinking was Wilhelm.

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OWARI

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**Author's Note: Well… sorry if it's not that good. I never plan the storyline so I just type and type, hoping I could make something decent enough to read. (( Maaa… I guess the time when Miakis first met Lym is not that early. I guess... maybe Miakis met Lyms when she was 3 or 5... not exactly a 'baby'. But to make everything a little more dramatic so… I let her said when she was still a 'baby'. But anyway! Miakis called Dragon Horses that people feared 'Dwaggie Horsie' and cooed them, right? Perhaps it's not too different with Lyms. XDDD Bwahaha… whack me, people.**

**Maaa… that's all! JYA NEE, MINNA!!!**


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